Rape (and) Trauma from a Female Survivor’s Perspective in Contemporary Japanese Fiction Written by Women

Abstract Rape remains a recurring topic within Japanese literature, and among the varying literary depictions of rape, there are literary texts conceptualising rape as a severely traumatising experience for the survivor. This article examines four of such literary texts focusing on rape (and) trauma that were written by contemporary Japanese women writers Uchida Shungiku, Yoshimoto Banana, and Sakurai Ami. Their works depict the experience of rape from a female victim’s perspective, focusing on possible effects of rape on the survivor’s body and mind, the struggle to survive the trauma, and finally on how survivors are treated by their diegetic surroundings. By emphasising those aspects of rape that usually remain unspoken within the public discourse surrounding raped women, these literary works challenge hegemonic, androcentrically-infused perceptions of raped women that basically serve to justify the rape of women. On the contrary, Uchida’s, Yoshimoto’s, and Sakurai’s fictional stories exemplify why rape cannot be justified by conceptualising it as a form of extreme violence that leaves an irrevocable impact on the survivor’s mind while simultaneously pointing out how essential the assistance and help of others are for the rape victims to literally survive rape.